A COUNCIL is poised to take legal action in an effort to claw back millions of pounds spent repairing a botched road.

North Yorkshire County Council has spent millions of pounds repairing the A63 which was built by Highways England in 2003.

Since the road was transferred to the council in 2009, the authority has carried out extensive repairs and an investigation found there were fundamental problems with the road structure and the lower layers of its construction.

The council believes it has a duty to taxpayers to get back the substantial repair costs and is wants to recoup £7m from Highways England.

At first Highways England considered it could contribute £2.89m, which the council argued was too little, but now says it can give nothing.

A Highways England official said: “We are aware of North Yorkshire County Council’s intentions to pursue legal action regarding the A63 Selby bypass. We will be following the necessary legal proceedings in this matter.”